Record number of Bermuda listings - BSX

The Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) is at a record number of listings, off the back of continued growth in the jurisdiction. Its chief executive Greg Wojciechowski revealed there are currently 263 listings, and that this success was driven by new reinsurance capacity entering the market.

The aggregate outstanding amount in cat bonds in Bermuda stands at $29.2bn – most of the global total.

“Looking at where we stand, the Bermuda Stock Exchange has seen another very exciting year in terms of the products coming to market,” Wojciechowski said.

“It’s clear that the capital markets and the investors in ILS securities and particularly cat bonds still have that appetite.”

This year alone saw 79 new items come to listing in Bermuda, with the market cap at around $8.4bn. The overall issuance value for the year was about $11bn.

Wojciechowski said the figures illustrated how Bermuda remained a “focal point” for new issuances.

He added: “What’s important about Bermuda is that, as well as infrastructure, depth of experience and critical mass, it’s framework is tried and tested. It does provide speed to market and these securities, companies and products are time sensitive because they are responding to cycles in the reinsurance market.

“The fact there is certainty around getting a product to market through the Bermuda framework has contributed largely to Bermuda’s success. Others that are entering the market are finding that is something the market has sensitivity towards, so we are well positioned in that regard.”

But he said that with success came new challenges for the jurisdiction to overcome – chiefly pricing pressures and the threat of competition from rival offshore platforms.

Wojciechowski said the framework and reputation that Bermuda had built over decades had turned it into a microcosm of reinsurance excellence.

“As we see more and more competition coming into the space, those competitors have various aspects of the value chain that they’re offering,” Wojciechowski said.

“It takes some time in the industry to prove all of the machinery works together to be able to provide market support and innovative solutions. This has been proven in Bermuda in a tried and tested fashion.”

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